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The Queen's Speech
Led by ___ (Mouth), and ___ (Feet). Imperial Gardens The Imperial Gardnes are a glorious testament to Sol's beauty and grace, if the sign you just walked under is to be believed. Right now however, that beauty is largely covered by enormous woven tapestries of Queen Ava's face in reds and golds. From one of the balconies of the eye, a herald and a guard stand, both clad in the great black armour of the Right Arm. On the hour, the herald announces the Queen's arrival with a tune on their trumpet, the music magically amplified to allow all to hear the single herald's tune. The crowd begins to get restless, and begins cheering as Ava parts the bronze curtains and emerges onto the balcony. The guard bashes his Partizan on the floor, the boom silencing the crowd. "Esteemed adventurers, warriors, and allies, thank you for assembling on such short notice. We are in the unfortunate situation where I must ask for your assistance. As many have heard, a great tidal wave has destroyed much of the beautiful port town of Agadir. The cause of this event has yet to be officially confirmed, but I'm certain that many of you have heard the rumours about the source of the disruption, and both I and my advisers believe it would be prudent for the situation to be dealt with as soon as possible." "Unfortunately, as residents of the city know, the Right Arm is sworn to protect Pyrus Shal at all times, and so cannot leave to assist our Najran neighbours. Thus, I implore you - make your way to Jerada, and assist the victims of this great tragedy. The dockmaster has been informed that all adventurers heading to Jerada in the next 2 days are to have their fees subsidised by The Eye." "If reports do confirm that a creature is the cause of the tides, anyone who slays the beast and bring proof to my embassy in Tarrodant will be greatly rewarded! So go forth! For glory, for our comrades, and always for Sol!" Immediately, masses of people charge out of the gardens, cheering and chanting in a mad stampede east. Stables The stables are at the main entrance to the city, just before the Surface Ascender, and are being swarmed by adventurers coming straight from the speech for their chance at the royal treasury. You're getting buffeted by the crowd of people who are desperate to get a carriage all around you, and are feeling more and more claustrophobic as the crowd swallows you up. Off to the north you can see the entrance of the Surface Ascender, the many lifts slowly being pulled up the cliff face by the even more red-faced workers turning the cranks at the bottom of the lifts. * Passive Perception Perception: Roll to see if any players hear Sara calling for them. ** All who succeed are immune from being pick-pocketed here. *** If any player hears Sara, they direct the other players to her location. *** If no players hear Sara, she grabs the arm of a random player, and they then direct the others. * 2x Pickpocket Check Perception for all but Lujayn: Roll for two players to be pick-pocketed. If they detect the thief, they cannot identify the culprit in the mass of people. The players are reunited with Sara, the barmaid from The Naked Wolf. She greets the players and explains that her father, a ranch owner, had given her his horses and carriage when he died two years ago. "The carriage could do with a bit of work, but if you can patch it up or find someone who can, I can take you to the docks lickety-split!" * 'Survival/Untrained Int -4: '''Attempting to repair the carriage by hand. Can be attempted by as many people as possible, but if 4 or lower is rolled, the carriage loses 20 condition and Sara stops the players before they completely destroy the cart. ** The carriage needs 50 points to be fully repaired. The players can also pay one of the many drivers to take them to the docks, and the horse owners will charge between 7sp and 2gp per person, depending on the number of other people around and the team's persuasion. The group can, of course, walk. Plains of Shal Approaching the Coast ''The terrain becomes more cliff-like as you approach the sea, and there are few places where anyone could comfortable walk or ride to the ocean. The area is lightly wooded, and various small creatures can be seen skittering about the vaguely grassy ground. * 'Passive Perception Marching Order: '''Only take highest score. ** High: The group sees the wrecked caravan and the exact number of bandits attacking. ** Medium: The group sees the wrecked caravan and half of the bandits - the other group will appear in an ambush soon after. ** Low: The group run into the fight, immediately entering combat and alarming the bandits. ''The bandits surrounding a battered and tipped over caravan are wear similar clothes - and have some kind of white and yellow flower in their hair. * 'Nature/Herbalism & History: '''Must succeed first check to attempt second. ** 1st Success: The flower is identified as a Philadelphus flower, an uncommon plant that smells like Jasmine. ** 2nd Success: The flower, in ancient times, was used to subtly signal that someone was being deceived. During the fight, any player that moves within 10ft of the cowering merchant is immediately attacked by his reaction, dashing forwards and surprise attacking the player. If the fight is going poorly, or the back stab fails, the bandits will attempt to escape with as much stolen money as possible. Pyrus Docks Main Pit Entrance ''The Pyrus Docks are just as intricately decorated as the capital itself, with great golden spires marking the entrance. Unlike the capital, the only entrance to the Docks that you can see is by lift, so you head through the spires and down a few steps to a lift, which stinks of grease and oil. After a few minutes, the gears begin to turn, the machine clangs and metal scrapes as the lift descends into the docks. The main pit of the docks consists of several well-spaced buildings, all several stories. Most appear to be workers' flats, with washing hanging from many of the windows. In the centre of the pit is a large clearing, where makeshift stables house a variety of horses, and salespeople sit on enormous piles of goods waiting for their transport to arrive. In the middle of the clearing, a signpost directs travelers to the docks 'PING 'and the entry lift, where you just came from. Transport Office The sign outside of this grandiose building reads "Transport Office," and is very busy. Inside, crows of people clambour for information about getting to Jerada. You notice that the racks of leaflets are already empty, and fliers, leaflets and scraps of paper are scattered across the floor, mostly covered in boot prints.The solo woman behind the desk - a yound Shal woman, with dark red skin and braided blonde hair - is frantically handing out timetables and giving information to the crowd shouting questions at her. '' Basic ships leave for Settat at 7am and 3pm every day, but have limited space. Other ships are going on the journey, but you'll have to ask around about what ships are going where and when if you want to find another route. * '''Investigation: '''Gather information about alternative routes. *# A tourist ship will arrive at 4pm taking leisure passengers to and from Settat - but the man in charge of seeing the ship into port has gone missing! He was last seen heading south out of the docks at about noon. *# Materials needed to continue work on the Reltih Docks are coming in tomorrow - after they unload, the Najran ship will most likely head back to Settat. *# The First Docks are completely swamped with adventurers - all seeking passage to Jerada. Because of the demand, the Dockmaster has ramped up the prices to cash in on the rush - so passage through the main port is much more expensive than usual. (1g-3g per person) Dockmaster's Quarters ''Though the door bears a DO NOT DISTURB sign, you can see through the window that a large Shal man is hunched over a desk much too small for him, scribbling something away. Every inch of the room appears to be dedicated to storing or writing on paper - and just from the window, you can see 3 writing desks. Connection Road Here, the passage splits in two - the road bending south whilst the path continues straight, traffic blocked with large brick bollards. A gust of salty sea air blows through the narrow passage, and scraps of paper and wood tumble across the stone floor around you. The signs bolted to either side of the dividing wall explain that for The Frey, Silt, and Tourist Docks, the path should be followed, whilst the road leads to the First, Exotic Import, and Military Docks. Shipyard Reltih Docks This part of the docks still seems fairly ramshackle - scaffolding can be seen over the buildings, Before you can go any further, the construction worker; a large Shal man in a wooden helmet and a bright yellow tunic turns you away. "These docks are still under construction, no entry for the public." If pressed he will explain about the docks being renovated to allow for special goods to be imported from all over the world, by order of the new Queen. Frey & Silt Docks The royal docks were both named after the kings that commissioned them. The Frey docks are mostly used to import exotic animals - Drohill being a fan of hunting and the mythological side of Praedam, whilst the Silt docks, named after the First Shal King Smidhoff Silt, is fully equipped to recieve building materials - Silt having oversaw the majority of the digging and building of Pyrus Shal. These docks are largely quiet, as they receive large shipments infrequently, rather than small, frequent arrivals. Tourist Docks As they are named, these docks are mostly used for incoming and outgoing tourists - even the buildings immediately after the dock offering cheaply made souvenirs designed to con excited foreigners into parting with their coin. First Docks These docks are the most versatile docks, and will accept pretty much any ship. These are the busiest docks, where wannabe adventurers have flocked to try and get a boat to Jerada. Exotic Import Docks These ports are used to bring in exotic goods and delicacies - objects too dangerous for average people to transport. This can range from deadly animals, to luxurious pelts worth more than the lives of the sailors transporting it. Anything that comes in this port is first examined in the Customs Office before it is allowed to exit the EI Docks into the city. The Lost Sailor Heading back out of the city, the cold sea air blows across you, chilling you even through your clothes. It seems like you're not the only group leaving the Docks right now - several other groups are also making their way out, and you can hear some loudly complain about the price of a boat to another continent. * 'Passive Perception if they're looking for Sailor: '''To hear the Sailor's cries. ''As you come to a more wooded area, you hear the cries of a man in distress! From the DIRECTION! You can quite clearly see a man in a bright blue and white tunic, hiding in a tree. He yells for your help - at the bottom of the tree stand the local wildlife, butting their heads against the tree in an attempt to knock the man out. Upon rescuing the man, he thanks you profusely. "Thank you miss, thank you sir, thank you miss." He opens his jacket to reveal an enormous round fruit, something he calls a Lantus Fruit, and offers to share it with you on the journey back to the Docks. * 'Nature: '''Identify the fruit as a simple Watermelon. The man disputes that he's never heard of such a thing. ''The fruit is delicious and refreshing, and as you walk, the Sailor explains: "I usually come down here for lunch - I find that Lantus Fruit goes with everything and makes everything better! Today, I saw such a massive fruit that I had to pick it from that tree, but I don't think the animals liked me being there..."